


Call Me, Sweetly

by hostilovi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Demons, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic School, Magic-Users
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-18 14:59:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8166004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hostilovi/pseuds/hostilovi
Summary: Oikawa knew no good could come of falling in love with his best friend.He did it anyway.He knew no good could come of making a deal with a demon.He did that, too.Companion piece to Call Me, Softly





	1. Chapter 1

_Iwaizumi stared at him, horror plain on his features. There was no disguising the stench of demon in the room._

_“What did you do?”_

Oikawa awoke with a start. The dream was familiar—the memory, familiar—but it never got any easier to stomach. He reached out but found himself alone in bed.

Of course. Iwaizumi had returned to his own room after their study session.

Oikawa sat up slowly, feeling heavy with yet another night of too little sleep, pretending his bad knee wasn’t aching with the promise of an oncoming storm. The room was dark. Too early to be awake, then. With a curl of his fingers and a whisper that tasted of ash, the fire across the room sprang back into life from faintly glowing embers.

He wouldn’t be getting back to sleep after that dream, so he sat at his desk, dressing gown pulled close around him, and pulled his books towards him.

A knock came at the door. Before he could stand, Iwaizumi came breezing it, kicking the door shut behind him. Like him, Iwaizumi had his dressing gown on over his pajamas, though it was hanging loose and untied. He scowled at Oikawa in greeting.

“Oh please, do come in, Iwa-chan,” he said dryly, even though he really didn’t mind.

“Had a dream,” he said shortly, taking in the sight of him studiously bent over his books. “Figured you’d be up.”

“A dream?”

Iwaizumi scoffed, pulling up the other chair next to him and sitting in it backwards. “I’m not here to talk about some shitty dream with you. What are you even doing?”

Oikawa considered him for a moment. “Had a dream,” he replied, “and there’s no such thing as too much studying.”

“You’re already top of the class.”

But that wasn’t enough. It had never been enough. No matter how high a rank he achieved, he would always be straining for  _more._

_“What did you do?”_

Iwaizumi reached over and shut the book on top of the pile. “Enough of that.”

“Iwa-chan,” he groaned, leaning over and bumping his head fondly against his arm. “How could you? Now I’ve lost my place.”

“You can find it later. Let’s go to bed.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“I have a new version of my dreamless sleep spell and I’m trying it out on you.” He hauled Oikawa up to his feet. “Now c’mon.”

He didn’t need much convincing to go back to the warm comfort of his bed instead of spending another few hours in a wooden chair—the school issued furniture wasn’t built for comfort, besides the beds.

“It never works, Iwa-chan,” he said softly. “And what about you?”

“I’ll get it one day. Don’t worry about me.”

They were always testing out spells on each other, under the noses of the overprotective professors. If they knew the amount of magic either of them handled, they would be put under probation watch faster than blinking. If they knew they were actually  _experimenting_  with magic—well, Oikawa didn’t want to imagine the consequences for that.

But they were careful. More than careful.

“I don’t get a goodnight kiss?” Oikawa asked as he settled under the covers and Iwaizumi remained standing by his bedside. He glared, ears flaring red.

“You got one earlier. Don’t be greedy.”

“Stingy.” Oikawa smiled at him anyway, closing his eyes as Iwaizumi began to say the words of his spell. His gruff voice spoke brusquely as always but the spell felt gentle, like a single sheet drifting down to settle on top of him.

As the spell dragged him under, Oikawa swore he felt Iwaizumi’s lips brush his forehead, but surely he imagined it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He dreamed. A pleasant dream though, of his younger days. Days spent wandering the woods near his parents’ home, often with Iwaizumi. It was like watching it from a distance as an outside observer through fogged glass.

When his alarm spells woke him, he wasn’t ready for it.

Iwaizumi was there, fully dressed. He must have gone back to his room and returned after changing. The shadows under his eyes were pronounced and his hair was more mussed than usual.

“Didn’t sleep?” Oikawa asked, rubbing at his eyes after waving the alarms into silence.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he admitted after a few moments. Oikawa nodded, stretching carefully before standing and going to his wardrobe. “How’d the spell work? Did you dream?”

“I dreamed. But it was far away. With some more tweaking, I’ll bet you can really do it.”

“I’ll have to wait until we’re graduated to get it officially sanctioned,” Iwaizumi ground out irritably, tossing him his tie.

Graduation wasn’t all that far off. It was this year, and they were done. They hadn’t spoken about it a lot—or at least not to each other. Oikawa didn’t know what his own plans were, let alone those of his best friend. It felt like if they talked about it, it would become real.

Oikawa was both ready and not to leave this place. It signified the passing of time, and Oikawa didn’t have much in the way of time anymore.

“You and me,” he said casually, “we could aim to be spell-writers. Once we’re graduated, of course.”

“That’s always been the plan, dumbass.”

A wave of relief came over him. He remembered.

Of course he remembered. That foolish promise they made to each other as children, to become the greatest spell-writers in the world.

“Of course,” he murmured, smiling to himself until he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror and cringed at the state of his hair. Bedhead was his eternal curse. “You go on ahead, I’ve got to—”

Iwaizumi sighed and flopped into the desk chair, signifying that he would wait.

“You’re the best, Iwa-chan!”

“Don’t I know it.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We have the pitch today,” Oikawa called out as a reminder to his team as they made their way into the dining hall. He liked these days best, when they all arrived at the same time and were able to make an entrance. He always felt strongest with them by his side.

He grabbed Kyoutani by the shirt collar when he made to slouch away. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Mad Dog-chan.”

He grumbled out something under his breath but stopped fighting to get away after Iwaizumi sent him a stern glance.

“Yes, captain, we know, captain,” they all said, with various states of energy. Kunimi’s response was barely a mumble, where Kindaichi had a lot more pep in his voice.

He breezed through the day, more focused on dueling team practice than his lessons. He hadn’t exactly surpassed what the professors could teach, but he had certainly run out of new material in the library. And he always got the niggling feeling that the professors tried to hold people like him back; people looking for power, people with talent.

They could try to hold him back all they wanted. He refused to be shackled.

“Are we really going out in this?” Hanamaki asked, eyeing the rain dubiously.

“It builds character,” Oikawa said brightly, even though his knee gave an unpleasant twinge. “If it gets any worse, I’ll call it off for the day, but this isn’t enough to stop for.”

With some good-natured grumbling and shoving, they went out onto the already muddy pitch and began with their warmups before breaking out into teams for mock battles.

The rain  _did_  end up getting worse, and they were all soaked and muddied by the time they made it off the field—no thanks to Matsukawa who had bodily scooped up Hanamaki and tossed him into a puddle, starting a mud fight when the others got heavily splattered.

Oikawa wanted to immediately strip down and jump in the showers with the rest of the team, but he sat on the bench, waiting until they cleared out, under the guise of going over strategies for their upcoming game against Karasuno’s dueling team.

They were used to him waiting until they were gone, so no one questioned it, although Matsukawa did say something about his hair getting stuck like that if he left it too long.

With the rest of the team gone, Oikawa showered in blissful solitude, scrubbing the sweat and mud from his body.

Towel slung around his hips, he returned to his locker to get changed and found Iwaizumi laying across the bench. Oikawa tensed up when Iwaizumi’s eyes fell on him.

“I thought you were gone already, Iwa-chan,” he said lightly, freezing in place.

“Thought wrong.”

“Clearly.”

Oikawa nearly gritted his teeth, but deliberately turned his back to Iwaizumi in order to face his locker and finished drying off.

He hated this. Hated him seeing his scars. Anyone, really, but him most of all.

“Looks like they hurt today,” Iwaizumi said neutrally.

They hurt, every single day. Pain was a constant.

Not that Iwaizumi needed to know that. Perhaps he had guessed, but he didn’t need to know for certain.

“It’s nothing to worry your pretty little head over,” Oikawa said, just as neutral, pulling his shirt on. He felt stronger, safer with the thin cotton layer between him and Iwaizumi’s eyes.

“You should take something for it.”

“I can’t.”

“If you tell them it’s for your knee—”

“—I’ll get pulled off the team again. Is that what you want?”

Iwaizumi growled in frustration. “You know it’s not, idiot.”

“Then stop bringing it up.” Fully dressed, Oikawa turned around, putting one hand on his hip. Iwaizumi was scowling at nothing, arms folded across his chest.

“If I had been there to stop you—”

“It’s in the past now.” Oikawa kicked the bench. “Are you coming with or are you going to mope some more?”

Iwaizumi got to his feet with a grumble that he was  _not_  moping, and they walked quickly through the downpour back to their Tower, shoulders bumping with every step. They were soaked again by the time they made it inside, but it was nothing a simple drying spell couldn’t fix.

 They ran into a gaggle of girls on their way up to their rooms, all of them eager to exchange words with Oikawa. He stopped to talk with them even though Iwaizumi was clearly antsy to head back, flirting a little to see the smiles light up their faces. He liked making people happy.

 Iwaizumi ended up dragging him away, too impatient to wait. Oikawa waved goodbye to them over his shoulder with a bright smile.

“Jealous?” Oikawa asked lightly when Iwaizumi followed him into his room with a scowl.

“Hardly.”

He sprawled out on Oikawa’s bed like he belonged there. Oikawa liked to think that he did, though he knew that no one truly belonged to another person. No one person could be another’s home.

But Iwaizumi still felt an awful lot like home.

Loosening his tie, Oikawa joined him on the bed, elbowing him over until there was enough space for the two of them.

“You shouldn’t lead them on like that.”

“It’s just a little harmless flirting.”

“They’re good girls,” Iwaizumi continued as though he hadn’t heard. “They deserve better.”

That stung, even coming from him. Or maybe because it came from him. “Better than me?”

“Better than empty promises.”

Oikawa rolled over, propping himself up on one arm so that he leaned over Iwaizumi. There was a small line between his brows that Oikawa tried to rub away with his thumb.

“Does that make me a bad boy?” he murmured, entranced by the intensity of his dark eyes.

Iwaizumi snorted, smacking his hand away.

“It makes you a dumbass, same as always.”

But when Oikawa leaned down to kiss him, his lips were soft and willing, his tongue eager when he surged forward, switching their places so that he was the one on top. Oikawa let him, content to give up control if it was to him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was on his way to the library, to see if the new books for the year had come in yet, when he smelled it.

_Demon._

Or something very similar. Something like fire.

A familiar head of messy black hair was in front of him. Oikawa narrowed his eyes, wondering.

“That’s bad luck, you know,” he called out to him.

Akaashi paused, glancing over his shoulder.

“Excuse me?” His words were as polite as they ever were, but his tone fell flat.

“Working with fire, on a day like today.” He closed the distance between them, cautiously smelling the air again. Demon or fire? The scent seemed to be fading, so he couldn’t properly tell. Akaashi’s face was a blank canvas except for a mild show of irritation. He lifted his eyebrows at him.

“A day like today,” he repeated.

Oikawa loomed over him for a few more moments before giving it up as a lost cause, walking away.

_No._ He couldn’t leave it just like that. He spun on his heel to face Akaashi again.

“Rain’s coming. Didn’t you read the weather?”

“It must have slipped my mind.”

Oikawa hummed, tilting his head to one side. “The ace student of Fukurodani Tower, forgetting to do his daily readings. I should report you, you know! Well, make sure you get that smoke off your hands, keep that bad luck away.

A flash of  _something_  crossed his face, gone too quickly to make sense of.

“I will, thank you.”

“Don’t worry, little owl. It’ll be our secret.”

He started walking again, head held high, shoulders back, not letting his fear get the best of him.

He would need to keep a closer eye on Akaashi from now on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 “What are you staring at?”

“He’s probably just making mooneyes at some girl,” Matsukawa drawled as he plunked down in the seat next to Iwaizumi. “Like usual.”

“I do not make  _mooneyes,”_ Oikawa said, pulling his eyes back from across the room, where he had been watching Akaashi. Hanamaki snorted into his food when Komi batted his eyelashes in mockery. “I don’t!”

“Then what do you call that face you make when you look at Iwa—”

“Anyway,” Oikawa said loudly, “I hope everyone is ready for our game.”

“Born ready, oh captain.”

Iwaizumi cast him a strange look but let it slide.

They had more important things to focus on anyway. The game, for one. Oikawa shoveled food into his mouth mechanically even though he wasn’t hungry. He would need the energy later. He mostly ignored the conversation going on around him, which was something the others were used to on game days. Oikawa’s sense of focus was legendary.

Iwaizumi said it was just him being single-minded.

Oikawa didn’t know that there was much of a difference between the two.

They trooped onto the field, dressed in their traditional dueling robes, to the loud cheers of their tower. They always had the biggest turnout of fans, but with Karasuno’s rapid improvement and rumors of their destructive first year duo, they had quite a few fans in their stands as well.

The noise was distant, as was the warmth of the sunny day beating down on them. All that mattered was the game.

The whistle blew. It was his serve.

He gathered fire into his palms and slammed it over onto their side—with more force than was really necessary, for the first serve of the game. But he wanted to send a message.  _You’re no match for me._

Service ace.

He served again, fire again. They dove, but didn’t quite manage to catch it.

Oikawa breathed in deep, heart pounding in his ears. He could feel his knee weakening and gritted his teeth.

His balance was slightly off on the next serve and they managed to send it back their way.

The game truly began.

With every fireball and lightning strike that Seijou sent their way, Karasuno countered with earth and water and air. There was never a lull, hardly any openings. They were stronger than he had anticipated and the quick attacks from the first year duo were alarming to say the least.

They won the first set. Karasuno won the second—by the skin of their teeth, but they still won it.

“Let’s do it like we always do,” Oikawa told the team while they stood huddled getting their drinks and wiping away sweat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 They lost.

They had done their best, but they still lost.

To Kageyama’s team, no less. That rankled more than it probably should. That was the name of the game—there was a winner, there was a loser. There was never any telling what side of the line you’d be on.

Kageyama presented his hand to Oikawa as they lined up to bow.

“Good game,” he said, stiff as ever. Oikawa had no choice to shake his hand; it  _had_  been a good game, painful as it was to lose.

“I’ll beat you next time,” Oikawa promised. Kageyama grinned.

“You can try.”

“Yeah!” piped up the short, orange-haired player that had been, teamed with Kageyama, their ultimate downfall. Hinata. “We won’t lose!”

They bowed and cleared off the field. The next teams needed to prepare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iwaizumi didn’t need an invitation to come to Oikawa’s room after the games were over. He came under the ruse of studying together, but he came all the same. Maybe to stop Oikawa from dwelling on the lost match, or maybe to distract himself from it. He had made no effort to disguise his frustrated tears earlier that day.

“You’ve been on that same page for half an hour, Oikawa,” he drawled out into the silence of his room. “Quit thinking about things you can’t change.”

“Have not,” he retorted. He had been. The words were a meaningless blur before him. “And I wasn’t thinking about the game.”

“Never said anything about the game.”

“Whatever.” Oikawa sighed and returned the book to the precarious stack. He didn’t know why he was trying to study at a time like this, anyway.

_Because otherwise Iwaizumi might leave. You don’t want to be alone._

“What were you staring at?”

“Hm?”

“This morning. You looked angry.” He turned the page, not looking at him. “I mean, you always look constipated one way or another, but this morning especially.”

“Rude, Iwa-chan!”

“So? What was it?” he said, ignoring his comment.

Oikawa hesitated.

“You know the ace player of Fukurodani?”

“Akaashi Keiji, yeah. He’s a hard one to forget.”

“I ran into him the other day and I could swear that I smelled demon on him,” Oikawa said all in a rush, hoping it wasn’t just his paranoia talking. Iwaizumi’s face darkened.

“Oikawa, the chances of that—”

“—are slim, but it’s not impossible. He has a lot of power. Anyway, there’s no mistaking that smell.” Like fire, but not quite. Like ashes, but not quite.

_Like the smell of your own impending death._

“You’re probably just projecting, Oikawa.”

Oikawa resisted the urge to grind his teeth and set his book down with a solid thump on his desk. “I am  _not_ projecting. I’m being serious.”

“So I am,” Iwaizumi snapped, “and I think you’re too competitive with anyone who threatens your position as ace student.”

“This isn’t about that!”

“I really think it is.”

“It’s not! With that much power, that much skill, there’s a chance he may have made a deal to get it!”

“Not everyone with power has made your shitty ass choices!” Iwaizumi yelled, slamming a hand down on the desk, making the pile of books fall over. “Get that through your damn head, Oikawa!”

“I can  _tell_ ,” Oikawa snarled back.

“Like you could tell with Kageyama, huh?”

Oikawa recoiled from the venom in his tone.

“That was an honest mistake.”

“That was the result of your paranoia. You ruined a perfectly good relationship with a perfectly good kid, all because you couldn’t stop thinking about your own mistakes and projecting them on him.”

“If you’re just going to insult me, you may as well leave,” Oikawa said stiffly, getting to his feet.

“I’m not leaving until you promise to leave this be.”

“Not happening.”

He folded his arms, staying seated, gaze mutinous.

“Not happening, then.”

“I could make you,” Oikawa hissed out through his teeth, hating himself with every word. “And you could do nothing to stop me.”

“Oh yeah? Why don’t you go ahead, bigshot, see how far that gets you.”

Oikawa swallowed hard, anger fading into a sick feeling in his gut.

“You don’t understand, Iwaizumi,” he said, voice shaking ever so slightly.

“You’re right. I don’t. I try to help you and you threaten me.” He blew out a breath, looking up at the ceiling. “If we really threw down, you’d probably win, with that oh-so precious power of yours. But is that really what you want to do?”

Of course it wasn’t. Surely he knew that. He didn’t want any of this. If he could give back his power, earn back his life—

But he couldn’t.

And he wasn’t sure that he would, even given the chance.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, sitting back down. “I didn’t mean…I’m sorry. I would never.”

Iwaizumi smacked his shoulder, a little too hard to be friendly. “I know.”

“But I can’t just let this go. I can tell something’s off about him. I’m positive, this time.”

Iwaizumi considered him for a few moments.

“I believe you,” he said at long last. “But you can’t go stalking the poor kid.”

“What are you, my mother? I know that much.”

Iwaizumi scowled at him, but there wasn’t any heat behind it. He stood. “I’m going to bed. Promise me you’ll get some sleep tonight.”

“I’ll try.”

Iwaizumi sighed, but left it at that.

Alone again, his room seemed far too large. He buried himself in his books to distract himself from the thoughts that wouldn’t stop running through his head.

It wasn’t the first time they argued. Hell, he knew it wouldn’t be the last. That had always been the nature of their friendship. They told each other, frankly, when the other was being stupid.

But Oikawa knew he was right about this. He just needed some proof.

If Akaashi Keiji was consorting with demons, then he was going to find out.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

“We just finished our exams and you’re already studying again?” Iwaizumi asked dryly, dragging up a chair next to Oikawa. “Learn to take a break already.”

“Breaks are for the weak, Iwa-chan.”

Iwaizumi snorted. “Masochist. Breaks are a part of the process. You’re the top of the class anyway, don’t know why you bother.”

A somewhat tense silence fell. They both knew why he ‘bothered’.

“Did you happen to see the scores?” Oikawa asked lightly, hands clenching tightly on the edges of the book he held. The words blurred before his eyes, meaningless scribbles, black on white.

“Everyone sees the scores.”

“Then you know why.”

His grades had slipped. A matter of a few points, but one day those few points might land him in second rather than first and Oikawa simply could not _bear it._

Iwaizumi made a frustrated sound. “Oikawa….” He sighed. “It was one test. And this perfection that you’re aiming for—it doesn’t exist. It’s a social construct.”

“Well, aren’t you Mr. Philosophical all of a sudden”

“I’m being serious.”

“It doesn’t suit you.”

Iwaizumi swatted the book aside, ignoring Oikawa’s indignant squawk when he did so, reaching out to hold his face between his hands. The heat of his skin was both a distraction as well as a comfort.

“You only have so much time.” Iwaizumi pressed their foreheads together. “So quit wasting it on dumb shit like this.”

The reminder of his own mortality was unwelcome at best, but the gentleness in his tone was enough to soften the blow. Oikawa regarded him quietly, his dark eyes, his dark skin. His lips, so expressive. Iwaizumi’s eyes were half-shut and Oikawa studied the length of his eyelashes. He wanted to know everything about him. Wanted to remember.

“Quit staring,” he muttered.

“Make me.”

His eyes flicked upwards. There was a brief pause, a bated breath, and then he was kissing him with those lips he so admired. When Oikawa touched his waist, he shivered.

_Be my boyfriend,_  Oikawa was tempted to say. They had never asked each other officially. They just…were. But he didn’t want to risk it. Didn’t want to break the moment.

They eventually broke apart and Oikawa returned to his work. After some grumbling, Iwaizumi pulled a book out of the pile and joined him.

Maybe an hour had passed when Iwaizumi groaned and slammed his book shut.

“I’m done,” he announced. He peered over at the notes Oikawa was making. “What are you working on?”

“A new spell.”

Iwaizumi bent over close, their shoulders bumping and his breath skating warm across the skin of Oikawa’s arms where he had rolled up his sleeves.

“A healing spell?”

Oikawa hummed an affirmative.

“You’re shit at those, though.”

“Rude!” But it was true he didn’t have the knack for them. “It’s for you anyway.”

“You know I prefer my own spells.” But he leaned even closer, going so far as to rest his hand on Oikawa’s leg. “But not bad. I’ll try it out. Though, what’s this part for?”

Iwaizumi squinted at his writing before a flash of comprehension crossed his face.

“Oikawa, this’ll only be good for old wounds. Not to mention there’s potions for that.”

“It’s more of a pain management spell,” he said carefully.

“There’s potions for that,” Iwaizumi said, just as careful. “Those would be safer.”

“But like all potions, they’re strictly regulated.”

He didn’t say anything for a while.

Iwaizumi bent his head, kissing the top of Oikawa’s hand.

“I’ve tried making spells like this before, but this is a new approach. We’ll try it.”

Oikawa found himself blinking away tears and cleared his throat.

“I’m going to bed.” Iwaizumi stood, gripping Oikawa’s shoulder as he passed by. “Don’t make me wait up.”

“You’re staying?” Oikawa asked. Usually he only wandered into Oikawa’s bed when he had trouble sleeping himself, and never more than once a week.

Oikawa kept track.

Iwaizumi shot him a censoring look, as if daring him to question his decision, before leaving with a promise to be back once he changed.

Well, maybe he was being spoiled today. Oikawa was fine with that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He didn’t mean to follow him

Well, he did mean to follow him. He didn’t mean to follow him into the showers though; he just meant to make sure he was headed back to his rooms and not elsewhere to commit dark deeds of questionable morality. With or without a demon involved.

Akaashi was either too distracted to notice him or Oikawa was better at tailing people than he thought he was, because once within the shower room, he began disrobing at once. Oikawa turned to leave—he was in deep danger of turning into a stalker, like Iwaizumi told him not to become—but he saw something on Akaashi’s back.

Something terrible, horrifically familiar.

Oikawa’s eyes went wide and he ducked into one of the stalls. He did some deep breathing, trying to slow his suddenly racing heart, listening to the sound of the water running.

Seals. Akaashi had seals on his magic. Which meant he was operating at maybe half his true capacity. Maybe less—Oikawa had seen the marks of three seals. And more bruises than Oikawa cared to count, so they were freshly done.

Instead of the calm he was aiming for, his surprise turned to anger. How could he do that to himself? Didn’t he know the terrible after-effects that came with it? The high chance that he would ruin his potential in a permanent way?

Worse, what if someone had done it  _to_  him, in an effort to debilitate his power? There was a chance he didn’t know what it could do to him.

This was possibly more important than finding out if he was involved with demons. Oikawa took some more breaths, but couldn’t calm down. The water shut off.

They needed to have a talk.

Oikawa waited a few beats, listening for the telltale sign of Akaashi getting dressed before coming out from his hiding place.

“So,” Oikawa said, not bothering to keep the snarl out of his voice, “you got someone to seal off your magic.”

Akaashi paused in the middle of buttoning up his shirt.  Oikawa flashed him a tight-lipped smile.

“What are you doing here, Oikawa? This isn’t your tower. I could report you.”

“Quit playing the fool. It doesn’t suit you. Who did it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You think I don’t know what a seal looks like? The kind of  _damage_  it leaves?”

“I think,” Akaashi said, finally meeting his gaze, “that you should go.”

Oikawa bared his teeth, fighting back anger and confusion and fear, always fear. He tried to keep his voice steady and calm, for Akaashi’s sake. “You’re going to ruin yourself at this rate, Akaashi. Sealing magic can destroy your potential. Any child knows that. Give me a name.”

“I already told you—”

“And I already know that you’re lying.” Oikawa closed the space between them, using his superior height to his advantage. “Tell me who did this to you.”

Akaashi squared his shoulders and met his eyes firmly, face pale but determined.

“No,” he said simply.

That was  _it._  Oikawa grabbed him by the front of his shirt, hauling him closer. Akaashi hung like a limp fish in his grasp, meeting his glare head-on.

“Tell me or I swear—”

“You’ll what,” Akaashi said, soft, “hit me?”

“If that’s what it takes to get a straight answer out of you, then yes.”

He lay a finger on the damn kid. But he wasn’t above scaring him a little, if it meant he would get the truth.

“Oikawa, drop him!”

Iwaizumi.

Akaashi kicked him in the chest and Oikawa went stumbling back, gasping for breath.

“Iwa-chan,” he wheezed, “you don’t understand, he’s got seals—”

“I understand you’re in another tower with authorization, about to get both of us suspended for beating on a younger student.”

“That’s not—”

Iwaizumi grabbed him by the collar and Oikawa choked, yelping as he was thrown out the door of the shower room. He nearly crashed into the wall, but caught himself just in time, knee twinging painfully. Maybe Iwaizumi said something to Akaashi, maybe he didn’t. But he was out of the showers, at Oikawa’s side, very quickly.

“You idiot,” he growled, grabbing his arm and yanking him along as he started walking briskly towards their tower. “You fucking dumbass. I told you to leave it be, didn’t I? I told you not to stalk the kid, didn’t I?”

“Iwa-chan—”

“Don’t ‘Iwa-chan’ me.”

“But—”

“Just fucking don’t. You can explain yourself once we’re out of Fukurodani Tower.”

They walked in tense silence. Oikawa was glad they didn’t run into anyone else because he was near tears and Iwaizumi still hadn’t let go of him. Iwaizumi kept growling swear words under his breath, fingers tightening then loosening on his Oikawa’s arm. But he didn’t speak to him until they were safely back in Oikawa’s room.

“Explain. In as few words as possible. What the fuck you think you were doing tonight.”

Oikawa swallowed hard, avoiding Iwaizumi’s gaze. “I followed Akaashi. I thought I smelled demon on him.”  _Again._  “I only meant to try and verify the scent, but then I saw…”

He looked down at himself, at the neatly done-up buttons of his shirt.

Iwaizumi waited.

“He has seals on his magic. The same kind of seal I used to have. I recognized the marks.”

Iwaizumi was quiet for a few beats. “You’re sure?”

“I  _saw,_  Iwa-chan. I’m sure.”

“You still shouldn’t have followed him. You promised me.”

_We all know what a promise from me is worth._

“We have to help him,” Oikawa said, ignoring his last statement. Iwaizumi sighed, sitting down hard on the edge of the bed.

“Can’t help someone who doesn’t want help.”

“If we explain to him what the seals can do, he’ll understand.”

“I doubt he’ll be willing to listen now that he knows you’ve been stalking him.”

“I haven’t been  _stalking._  I’ve been investigating. For his own good, I might add.”

Iwaizumi shook his head, standing once more and brushing past Oikawa on his way out the door.

“Where are you going?” he couldn’t help asking.

“To bed. So should you.”

“But what about Akaashi? We need to figure this out.”

“There’s no ‘we’ in this, Oikawa. You’re the one who fucked up, so you can figure out how to fix it on your own.”

He had hoped he would stay. Hoped he would help. He always felt better with Iwaizumi working by his side.

But he was already gone.

Oikawa never did end up going to sleep that night, too busy mulling over his options. He couldn’t help feeling like he was duty-bound to lead Akaashi back from the wrong path he was clearly straying down. Seals, demons. The same bad choices Oikawa had made.

When the sun rose high enough, Oikawa stood from his desk, stretching his cramped muscles, and went to change. His back ached from sitting hunched over, but then, his back always hurt.

 Oikawa considered himself in the mirror.

The seal had been a plan of both desperation and necessity. With his newfound power, there was no way he could return to school and have it go unnoticed.

It hurt, going on, and the books warned it would hurt even worse when he unlocked it. But it was done.

Only later did he find out the potential incapacitating side effects of placing seals on your power.

 Only when Iwaizumi discovered them, and told him.

Oikawa yanked on his shirt with more force than necessary, hiding the scars from view. As if they had never been.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Not many people walked in the forest. There were stories of monsters that lived there, and the professors discouraged most from wandering in too far.

Oikawa had never let that stop him.

Some days, it felt like he was the monster of the forest.

As well as being a pleasant place to go for a walk and think uninterrupted, it had become a place for Oikawa to practice his magic at full power in peace.

Oikawa dropped the spell guarding his powers and felt the world grow still around him, as if holding its breath. Waiting.

Waiting to see what he would do.

And so he began.

He shot spell after spell at his invisible opponents, using all of the elements in turn. Lightning was his strongest, earth, his weakest. He didn’t slow down until his legs shook and threatened to give out beneath him and his breath grew short.

Using his magic like this felt like stretching muscles he’d forgotten he had. On the very edge of painful, but very satisfying.

Oikawa leaned against one of the trees to steady himself. His mouth burned with all the power he’d been wielding, lips tingling like he’d been kissed.

Piece by piece, he put back together the spell that would hide his abilities.

The world came back into motion.

Where before there had been stillness, the birds now sang again, the wind whispered through the leaves again.

He made his slow way back to the school, winding his way through the forest.

 There was only one thing to be done about Akaashi. Putting it off wasn’t going to make it any easier on himself.

He cast a simple ‘ignore me’ spell and made his way over to Fukurodani.

Akaashi answered at the first knock, mid-sentence, clearly expecting somebody else. His mouth snapped shut when it saw it was Oikawa.

“Akaashi.” Oikawa gave him a slow once-over. He looked like shit, like he hadn’t slept in days. “You’re looking well,” he lied.

“Oikawa.” His voice was stiff. “What do you want?”

‘That’s no way to talk to your elders, is it? And here I thought you were all about being polite.” He took a step closer and Akaashi took a countering step back, regarding him warily. “I can show you a way to hide it.”

Best to cut to the chase.

“I didn’t report you before, but come any closer—”

“I’m trying to help you!” Oikawa said through his teeth, his attempt at not getting frustrated failing before he even began. He looked away from Akaashi. He was thankful for the barrier of his glasses today. “I’m not here to fight. Let’s talk.”

“If I say no?” Akaashi said, so soft.

“That’s not an option.” Oikawa hesitated slightly. “I get that you don’t trust me. But I just—I’ve been where you are before.”

“No offense,” he said, “but I sincerely doubt that.”

“Just let me talk. Not here. Somewhere safer.”

Akaashi sighed after a few moments. “I have an independent study room. I’ll listen to what you have to say, then you leave me alone.”

“Fair enough.”

The long walk to Akaashi’s study room was done in a tense silence. Akaashi was as impossible to get a read on as ever, plodding steadily with his eyes never wavering from the front. Oikawa tried not to grit his teeth and kept repeating the words he wanted to say, over and over in his head. This needed to be done. This was the right thing to do.

“Gonna invite me in?” Oikawa said flatly when Akaashi stepped into the room. There was magic blocking him. Akaashi waited several beats, in an obvious power play that rankled at Oikawa. He would have done the same, in his place.

He wasn’t here to fight, but Akaashi was making it hard not to.

“Please come in,” he said.

Oikawa stepped inside, shutting the door firmly behind him. He took a breath. Smiled.

“I can show you a way to hide it. A way that doesn’t involve seals. It’ll take a lot of control on your part, but something tells me that won’t be a problem for you.” He had seen the way he fought on the dueling fields. Like something wild kept in constant check.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Akaashi said, voice as bland as his expression.

Oikawa took another deep breath. He hadn’t expected this to go well, from the beginning. “You’ve got power, and too much of it. No way otherwise you’d do this to yourself. But you’re going to ruin yourself this way.”

Another breath.

Here came the part that hurt.

“You’ll ruin yourself like I did. I don’t know what other shit you’re getting into—believe me, I’ll do my best to find out—but I’m not about to watch somebody like you wreck their potential over some rookie mistake like this.”

“Somebody like me.”

Oikawa barely kept himself from sneering. “A  _prodigy.”_

_“You’re_  a prodigy,” Akaashi argued. “One of the best anybody’s seen.”

But he wasn’t. His status was the product of hard work. Of obsession.

“And I’ve worked hard to keep it that way,” he said lightly, hands going to his shirt and unbuttoning it quickly, wrenching it off his body carelessly.  _Here comes the part that hurts._  “You want proof of my mistake, then here.”

Oikawa turned his naked back to him, not missing the gasp that Akaashi tried to cover up.

He knew what he saw.

The scars were still red and raw looking, forming a perfect circle in the center of his back. He waited a few moments before pulling his shirt back on, letting Akaashi get the full effect.

“Believe me yet?” he asked icily.

Akaashi nodded

“Good. Then you have nothing to argue about. I’m going to teach you the spell to hide your power so you can get rid of those things already.”

“What’s in this for you?” Akaashi asked as Oikawa was headed towards the desk for paper and a pen. He turned to Akaashi slowly.

“A clear conscience, for one.”

“You don’t even like me.”

“You’re right. I don’t.” He grabbed the paper and started writing, as quickly as he could manage. He wanted to be gone already. “You’re too sly, you’re too powerful, you’re too pretty. A deadly combination.”

When Akaashi didn’t reply, Oikawa sighed, tapping the pen against his lips.

“A joke, it’s a joke. It’s not like I hate you.”

There were a few more moments of blessed silence. Then, “Did Iwaizumi—”

“He doesn’t know I’m here. And I’d like to keep it that way.”

“He apologized for you, you know.”

_He what?_

“Sounds like him,” he murmured, trying not to think too hard about the implications. He shoved the paper into Akaashi’s hands and walked out the door.

“Thank you,” he heard Akaashi call after him. Oikawa lifted a hand in the air, not bothering to turn back around. He wanted out. He was done.

He was done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 “I don’t need you making apologies for me,” Oikawa said when Iwaizumi appeared in his doorway. Iwaizumi blinked slowly but didn’t startle at the sharpness of his tone.

“I knew you would never and it needed to be done,” he said shortly.

“You didn’t have the right—”

“I had every right, Shittykawa.”

Oikawa narrowed his eyes and pointed.  _You’re not my mother,_ he wanted to yell.  _You’re not even my boyfriend._

“Get out.”

He raised a brow. “You’re seriously kicking me out? What about the team practice schedule?”

“I’ll damn well do it myself.”

“Don’t be an ass. I’m vice-captain, that’s part of my job.”

“I’m captain-captain, and I don’t want to see your face.”

 “Oikawa—”

He tried to shut the door in his face but Iwaizumi caught it before he could, glaring.

“I wasn’t finished.”

“Well  _I_ am.”

“It needed to be done. You violated the kid’s privacy, I don’t care what your reasons were.”

“Then you should have let me do it myself,” Oikawa said between his teeth, trying to close the door one more time before giving it up.

“Oh? And when were you planning on doing it?”

Silence fell between them. Iwaizumi scoffed.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Get out,” Oikawa repeated, soft.

“Yeah, I heard you the first time.”

 Iwaizumi left. Oikawa slammed the door but didn’t feel any better for doing it.

He spent the night secretly wishing that Iwaizumi would come back. They would make up and he would stay the night in Oikawa’s bed again. He wasn’t angry anymore, he was just tired. And maybe Iwaizumi had been right, anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oikawa wasn’t much for apologies.

He knew how to admit when he was wrong, sure, but apologizing for it? It was a process like pulling teeth.

Taking a deep breath, he pounded his fist on Iwaizumi’s door. It was locked—he had already tried it—and he didn’t want to piss him off even more by breaking in.

There was no answer, so he kept pounding. A few heads poked out of doors, cursing at him and telling him to shut up, but he kept at it.

“Who the fuck is that?”

“Oikawa? Go the fuck to bed, man, he’ll still be here tomorrow.” That was Hanamaki, he thought. He didn’t particularly care.

“I need to have words with Iwa-chan,” he said grimly. And kept pounding.

The door flew open. Oikawa nearly bashed Iwaizumi in the face, but he caught his fist in his hand, glaring.

“Oikawa,” he said evenly.

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

“It’s four in the goddamn morning. Get away from me.” He shoved Oikawa back. Oikawa stumbled a bit, but managed to catch the door before Iwaizumi slammed it in his face.

“We need to talk, since you’re up.”

“No.”

“Alternatively, I will stand outside your door, singing, until you let me in.”

There were several dismayed shouts from the other students seeing what all the noise was about. Oikawa’s singing voice was legendary, and not in the best of ways.

With a growl, Iwaizumi grabbed him by the shirt front and dragged him in, slamming the door shut.

“You have ten seconds to explain—”

“I’m sorry,” Oikawa interrupted. Iwaizumi fell silent for a few moments, regarding him with exhausted eyes.

“For?”

“Overreacting.”

“Because?”

“You were right.”

“Apology accepted.” He waited a few beats. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too.”

“For?”

“Going behind your back.”

“You had good intentions.”

“Yeah, well. It was still shitty of me.” Iwaizumi sighed. “Can we go to bed now or was there something else?”

“Can you look at the practice schedule, vice-captain?”

Iwaizumi groaned and shook his head. “In the  _morning_ , yeah.” He flopped back into bed before Oikawa could point out that technically, it was morning. Because he hadn’t been kicked out or explicitly told to leave, Oikawa slid in beside him. He nearly held his breath until Iwaizumi settled an arm around his waist with a sleepy, unintelligible mumble.

“Goodnight, Iwa-chan,” he whispered.

Oikawa slept poorly those last few hours before they had to rise. Judging from Iwaizumi’s extra grumpy countenance when they got up, so had he. Still, he had been grateful for the warmth of his body next to his. Oikawa left to go change in his own room with a promise to meet Iwaizumi down at breakfast.

Iwaizumi beat him down there, unsurprisingly. He had always been quick to get ready.

Classes ticked by painfully slow. Iwaizumi kept elbowing him during class to keep him awake; Oikawa reached out every so often and pinched him to keep  _him_  awake. Soon enough though, they had to split up. They didn’t have all their classes together, despite how Oikawa had argued with him to take all the same with him for their last year. Iwaizumi had been adamant on his schedule—he wasn’t interested in taking the accelerated courses that Oikawa was.

“Ah, it’s Oikawa.”

“Ah, it’s Mattsun.”

He slung an easy arm around Oikawa’s shoulders, Hanamaki on his other side, and began regaling him with the latest tale of Yahaba and Kyoutani having an epic battle in Practical Charms. How he already knew about the gossip, Oikawa didn’t know, but he was happy to listen, even as he was thinking of ways to scold them later. Teammates should get along with less violence.

One by one, the rest of the team joined them as they walked to the tower.

“Dude! Check it out.”

 Iwaizumi was with a girl in the courtyard.

Alone with a girl in the courtyard.

Matsukawa wolf-whistled at him while the others hollered until Iwaizumi casually flipped them off. Oikawa was frozen.

“Yeah, boy, get it!”

Kunimi shot him an odd look as Oikawa stayed silent and still.

“All right, all right,” Oikawa said lightly, “let’s leave him be, shall we?”

The others laughed as all walked to the tower together but Oikawa still felt cold and sick. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on in that courtyard. And…they weren’t dating officially, after all. Iwaizumi was within his rights to tell her yes.

She had been pretty. She was probably normal, not a neurotic bundle of demon-cursed nerves.

Oikawa buried himself in his studies, writing up a new spell to keep his mind occupied. Something powerful, something destructive.

Iwaizumi wandered in, hours later, as Oikawa was finishing solidifying the incantation for his unnecessary spell.

“I’m going to bed soon,” he warned, even though he had planned to do no such thing. Iwaizumi made a vague noise as he pulled up the chair next to him.

“Little early for you, isn’t it?”

“I’m turning over a new leaf,” he said primly. “Late nights are bad for your skin. You should follow my example, Iwa-chan.”

“Yeah, okay,” he snorted, leaning over to look at what Oikawa was writing. He quickly pulled a book down over the spell. “What, I can’t look?”

“No.”

“So what, you’re being all secretive now?”

“I’m allowed to have secrets from you,” Oikawa snapped.

Iwaizumi’s face immediately darkened. He stood.

“All right, fine. If that’s how you’re going to be. We all know how well your secrets turn out to be.”

“That’s not fair,” Oikawa said sharply, standing too as Iwaizumi headed for the door, “and you know it.”

“Yeah, well, you’ve got a history, Oikawa.”

“So you don’t trust me?” Oikawa barked out a laugh. It hurt. “That’s typical.”

 “What the hell is wrong with you anyway?” Iwaizumi asked, almost yelling. Oikawa had never been more thankful for the silencing wards placed on all their rooms. “What is this about?”

“What did you tell that girl?” Oikawa said, voice low and shaky. “The one who confessed.”

“What the hell does that matter? We’re talking about you and your shitty attitude, not—”

“It matters!”

“I’m failing to see how!”

Oikawa bit his lip until he tasted iron.

“Do you see?” Iwaizumi fumed, making a wide gesture at him. “You’re doing it again, shutting me out! If you don’t tell me what the fuck’s going on, how am I supposed to know?”

_Because you’re Iwa-chan. You know everything there is to know about me._

_All except this one thing._

“What did you tell the girl?” he repeated, louder, less controlled.

“I told her no, dumbshit! Now will you fucking tell me—”

“I love you,” Oikawa shouted at him, voice cracking on the words. “Is that what you want to hear? That I’ve been hopelessly, pathetically in love with you since we were kids? Because it’s true.”

Iwaizumi seemed to be in shock. Eyes wide, mouth slightly open. Oikawa felt sick to his stomach and relieved all at once. He sat down hard on the edge of the bed.

“I would follow you anywhere,” he said, a little quieter, more shaky, “but you don’t seem to notice. Or care. And I can’t— _do this_  anymore. I can’t.”

“Can’t do what?” Iwaizumi asked softly.

“ _This._  These promises to be together, to work together. Kissing. Whatever it is we’ve been doing these past few years.” He laughed again, bitter. “Like you said, I only have so much time. I can’t waste it  _pining_  after you.”

Then he leaned forward, placing his head in his hands as tears threatened to spill down his face.

“Oikawa.” Iwaizumi touched his shoulders, his head, before he simply sat and leaned against him. “Where the hell did you get the idea that I don’t love you too?”

Oikawa froze.

“But you’ve never said…”

“What, like you have?”

He had a point. He had been waiting on Iwaizumi to make the first move, just like when they were kids.

“Were you really pining?”

“Don’t be an ass, Iwa-chan.” He sniffed, leaning into Iwaizumi.

“And what Mattsun said about mooneyes that one time—”

“I said, don’t be an ass. You caught me at a vulnerable moment.”

“I don’t want you making mooneyes at anyone but me,” Iwaizumi said, almost too soft to hear.

“What was that?”

“You heard me.” He cleared his throat, dropping an awkward arm around Oikawa’s shoulders and patting him. “So…be my boyfriend or whatever.”

“What’s the ‘or whatever’ for? And shouldn’t you be  _asking_?”

His face crinkled up in a familiar scowl, one he made when he was trying not to laugh.

“Just say yes so we can get this over with.”

“No way! If we’re going to be all official-like, you have to ask properly!” Oikawa said, putting on a haughty air even though his voice shook slightly with unshed tears. He elbowed Iwaizumi hard enough to make him grunt and moved so they were sitting across from each other. He put on an expectant smile.

Iwaizumi flushed red and avoided his gaze.

“Will you be my boyfriend?” he said, half a mumble.

Oikawa wished he could replay this moment over and over; relive the giddy, warm feeling in his chest, remember every detail about Iwaizumi’s blushing face.

“Hey, asshole, are you gonna answer?”

“Yes,” Oikawa declared, taking Iwaizumi’s hand between his own. “Only if you’ll be mine, too.”

“That’s settled then.”

They stared at each other for a few moments before Oikawa broke out into laughter. He couldn’t remember ever feeling so happy. Iwaizumi’s laughter wasn’t far behind his own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They went down to breakfast together, Oikawa wearing one of Iwaizumi’s shirts—it was a bit too short on him, a bit too large in some places, but he didn’t care. He felt like he could take on the world. They had traded ties, even though it didn’t really make a difference. He still remembered the feel of Iwaizumi’s fingers against his throat as he gently pulled it tighter around his neck.

“All set,” he had said brusquely, a flush high on his cheeks when Oikawa returned the favor.

They didn’t hold hands but their fingers brushed periodically, a gentle reminder of their closeness to each other.

“Ah, congratulations,” Hanamaki said with a lazy grin when he looked the two of them over. He elbowed Matsukawa until he said it too. Even Kyoutani looked up from his meal and eyed them, mumbling a congratulations around his mouthful of breakfast.

“What’s going on?” Kindaichi said, absolutely mystified.

Kindaichi colored when Kunimi whispered in his ear.

“C-Congratulations,” he said, bending over in his seat to bow towards the two of them.

Oikawa was torn between wanting to melt into the floor and feeling good that his friends were being so supportive. He had expected they would be, but the reality of it was much warmer and better than imagination.

“Thank you,” he said primly, taking his seat. Iwaizumi was beet red, but he didn’t look displeased as he sat next to him.

“Wondered when you two would finally get your heads out of your—”

“What Mattsun means to say is, we’re all very happy for the both of you,” Hanamaki chimed in brightly.

“Let’s not turn this into some big thing,” Iwaizumi said brusquely, bumping shoulders with Oikawa. “It’s not like this changes things all that much.”

It was a big thing. The biggest thing. Oikawa was finally, officially dating the love of his life. But Iwaizumi was right—it felt like a natural thing. He didn’t need the whole world to shine a light down on him, tempting though it may be to shout from the mountains that he was in love.

Like always, they just…were. And Oikawa liked that effortless feeling.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

The good feeling didn’t last, because good feelings never lasted. He passed by a stony faced Akaashi in the hall, and he smelled faintly of demon again.

It brought back a swarm of unwanted memories.

Oikawa was distracted all through practice, by the memories and his bad knee acting up. He couldn’t tell if it was from being overworked or if there was another storm coming.

_“I can give you seven years of life, in exchange for power.”_

_“Seven years isn’t nearly enough.”_

_“Trying to bargain with me?”_

_“Surely,” Oikawa licked his lips, trying to hide how terrified he was of the demon standing before him, “if I gave you half my life. That would be enough.”_

_It tilted its head, considering._

_“You are a strange human. No one has ever tried to bargain with me before. You should merely be grateful for my offer.”_

_“Yeah, well, I like to boldly go. What do you say, demonkind? Half my lifespan, in exchange for power. I’d say that’s fair.” He was praying not to die. A voice deep within him was screaming that this was a mistake, but he ignored it._

_The demon offered its hand and Oikawa took it, hesitant, shivering at the too-hot feel of its skin on his._

_“The deal is struck,” it boomed._

_Oikawa gasped in pain as he felt something in his chest constrict. He could literally feel the drain on his energy, unable to stop himself from sinking to his knees. The demon still held onto his hand, talons digging into his skin._

_The pain lingered long after the demon vanished. The wrongness of it made him gag._

 He woke up with a snap, only just managing to keep from leaping out of bed. His senses screamed  _danger, danger_ , even though there was no one present in the room besides Iwaizumi and his cat.

“Iwa-chan?”

He didn’t really want to wake him, but he wanted to be alone even less. Iwaizumi hummed in question when Oikawa touched his bare shoulder.

“’s wrong?” he mumbled.

“I’m scared,” he whispered to Iwaizumi’s back. “I’m so scared.”

Iwaizumi rolled over, face unreadable in the dark, and tugged him closer.

“Scared of what?” His voice was hoarse with sleep. Oikawa wanted to laugh; at himself, at his foolishness, at everything. But if he started laughing, he would start crying and that would be unthinkable to do right now.

“Dying.”

“Everyone’s afraid to die,” he said. But he held him a little tighter.

“I don’t want to die. Not like this.” Not alone, not without Iwaizumi. He used to daydream about the two of them growing old together, being crotchety old men together. Now his daydreams were haunted by terrors. How much longer did he really have? The demon had promised half his lifetime left to live—but how long was his lifetime? 20? 30? Less than either of those?

“I’m not going to let you,” Iwaizumi grated out. His hands shook where he touched him and Oikawa had to choke back a dry sob. He buried his head tight against Iwaizumi’s shoulder and just let himself be held.

“You can’t promise that,” he whispered. “You know you can’t.”

“Well, I am. If your demon dies before you do, the deal’s off. You’ll live.”

But would he lose his power, too?

Oikawa felt disgusted with himself for even thinking about that.

They fell asleep like that, tangled in each other. If Oikawa dreamed, he did not remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 He woke up with his arm dead asleep, Iwaizumi still in his embrace. With a soft groan, he gingerly pulled his arm free, sitting up and rubbing at his face. He felt like he hadn’t slept at all.

Iwaizumi rolled over, squinting grumpily up at him.

“Come back to bed,” he groused.

“I’m still in bed.”

“Yeah but you’re awake. I don’t wanna be.”

“So go back to sleep.”

“Not without you.”

“Iwa-chan,” he pressed a hand to his chest theatrically. “I’m touched.”

Iwaizumi pinched his side, nearly making him yelp. But he slowly sat up, clearly having given up on getting more rest for the moment.

“I’ve been thinking,” he started.

“A dangerous pastime. You might injure your pretty head.”

Iwaizumi elbowed him, hard, ignoring Oikawa’s laughter.

“How do we find this demon of yours?” Iwaizumi asked, abrupt as ever.

“We don’t,” Oikawa replied sharply. “It was bad enough that I summoned it the first time. I refuse to do that again.”

“Well, how else are we going to kill it?” He propped his head in his hands, staring into the fireplace.

“You’re not serious.”

“How hard can it be?” Iwaizumi mused. Oikawa snorted.

“You’re only saying that because you’ve never met a demon.”

“So then tell me,” he turned to him, impatient, eyes reflecting the banked fire. “How hard can it be?”

The hardest thing anyone could ever do. Oikawa wasn’t convinced it was possible; not with his demon.

He hated thinking of it in those terms.  _His._  But he needed to claim ownership of this, the single biggest mistake of his short life.

“They’re practically immortal,” Oikawa eventually said. “And more powerful than you can imagine.”

“More powerful than you?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “Much more.”

“But people have killed them before. So it’s not impossible. We’ll just have to be clever about it.”

“Clever,” Oikawa laughed, “is not what I would call you, Iwa-chan.”

“That’s why I’m not trying to go it alone, dumbass. You and me, we’ll take it on.”

His face was serious and stern. Focused.

_My ace._

“You mean that, don’t you,” Oikawa said, soft, half a question.

“Would I say it otherwise?”

Oikawa reached out and Iwaizumi met him halfway for the kiss. There was an edge of desperation to it that hadn’t been there before.

_I don’t want to die._

_I don’t want you to die._

“It’s a plan then,” Oikawa said, smoothing the rumples out of Iwaizumi’s sleep shirt where he had grabbed him. “You and me.”

“You and me,” Iwaizumi echoed with a smile, “we’ll kill this demon.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 His days passed in relative peace. Consumed as he was with the joy of now belonging to Iwaizumi—he had said those words to Iwaizumi once and he had laughed with something very soft about his eyes, saying Oikawa belonged to nobody—he didn’t forget about Akaashi.

He did back off a little. No more intense investigation. The truth would come to light, sooner or later.

He spent his time thinking about how little time he had. That and how if he  _could_  belong to somebody, it would be Iwaizumi. He wondered if he felt the same.

He wondered if it was possible to kill a demon without becoming one himself.

“Hey, star gazer.”

Oikawa smiled at the old name, moving over to make space for Iwaizumi next to him on the cramped balcony.

“Hey, bug boy,” he returned.

Iwaizumi snorted as he settled in next to him, roughing up his hair in a fond motion. Oikawa barely made an effort to get away, too pleased to have his fingers against his scalp.

“Wanna see something?” Oikawa asked, nudging him. Iwaizumi grunted in response.

Oikawa took a breath and began to whisper the words, ones that tasted like the air just after rainfall, that the wind seemed to steal from his mouth just as he said them.

Iwaizumi snorted. “What’s that now, just a bunch of pretty words?”

“Look.”

Oikawa pointed to the sky.

Where before there had been nothing but clouds, there was a perfect circle of space, letting the stars shine through. Iwaizumi caught his breath.

“Shit’s dangerous,” he breathed, staring up. Oikawa smiled, watching him and not the sky, not minding the drain on his magic if it meant he got to see this. Iwaizumi slowly leaned into him, letting out a breath when Oikawa took his hand and entangled their fingers.

“You like?” Oikawa asked.

“It’s a waste of magic.”

Oikawa  _tsk_ ed softly. “Not what I asked.”

“Of course I like it. Who wouldn’t? But you don’t have to waste these grand gestures on me. I already know how powerful you are.”

“It’s not about that.” Oikawa tightened his grip on his hand. “You know that, right?

“I know everything there is to know about you,” Iwaizumi replied frankly.

Oikawa couldn’t help catching his breath at the sight of Iwaizumi’s soft, genuine smile.

“You’re the only one I want to waste my grand gestures on,” Oikawa said quietly. He leaned in for a kiss but Iwaizumi started laughing.

“If that ain’t the most romantic shit you’ve ever said, I don’t know what is,” he teased.

Oikawa flushed red but before he could retort that it  _was_  romantic and Iwaizumi should be grateful, Iwaizumi was pressing their lips together, curling his free hand into Oikawa’s hair. And he tasted like all the sweetness in the world, all things beautiful and bright.

He tasted like the stars themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was out for a walk when he found the proof he needed.

Not the proof he  _wanted._  What he had wanted was to be wrong about Akaashi all along, for him to be as innocent as Kageyama had been. For this all to be one big misunderstanding—for the seals to be the end of it.

But here he was, and there they were.

Oikawa nearly held his breath, heart pounding too quickly as he ducked behind a tree, praying the demon hadn’t noticed him.

Thankfully, it seemed too busy with Akaashi to pay him any mind.

He wasn’t close enough to hear what either of them said, but judging from how Akaashi was pinned to the ground, it wasn’t a friendly exchange. Anger stirred inside him; anger on Akaashi’s behalf, and anger because of Akaashi’s foolhardiness. To think that such a bright young student would really turn to a demon—for  _anything—_

He had done the same, of course.

But like Iwaizumi was so fond of pointing out, he’d always been an idiot. A magic-hungry idiot.

Just as Oikawa was thinking of creeping closer, to pick up on the conversation, the demon took off. Its reddish feathers didn’t look the same as the feathers Akaashi used in the strange charms he carried with him. It was possible that this demon wasn’t the demon he’d contracted with, which was even more concerning. Bad enough that he had dealt with one demon. More than one spelled a whole new world of trouble.

His hands were shaking, he realized.

Oikawa sat down, hard, biting his lip to keep back the hysterical laughter that threatened to break out of him.

It had been a long time since he had been that close to a demon. He had hoped to never get that close ever again.

By the time he had managed to compose himself, Akaashi was long gone.

Oikawa hurried back towards the school, hoping to catch him before he made it back to his tower, where he wasn’t supposed to follow.

When he caught sight of him, the anger returned in full-force. He practically ran in order to get to the doors before him, blocking his way.

“I knew you were up to no good, Akaashi,” he said, voice sounding cold and hard even in the temperate outside air.

Akaashi’s face was carefully blank. “Oikawa, I have no idea what you’re going on about. Please get out of my way.”

Oikawa raised a single brow, a habitual smile twitching onto his face. “But consorting with demons? Surely even  _that_  is beneath you. I can smell them, all over you. What did they promise you? Fame, fortune?” He stepped closer, looming. “Power?”

“Oikawa—”

“And you were foolish enough to believe them, weren’t you? You were so hungry for their promises you couldn’t see the poison that came with them. And what did you swear to them in exchange, hm? Your life? Your soul?”

“You’re wrong, Oikawa.”

“I saw you. I saw you with it. So don’t tell me I’m wrong.”

Akaashi froze, eyes widening.

 “You’re not the only one who goes for walks in the woods, little owl.” He glanced up towards the crow on his shoulder and frowned before returning his gaze to Akaashi. “So which was it? Your life or your soul? What price did they manage to exact from you?”

“Even if what you’re saying is true, I would  _never_ ,” Akaashi said lowly, “tell  _you._ ”

Oikawa reached to grab him and the crow swooped down with an angry noise, dive-bombing around his head until he backed off a few steps. It landed on Akaashi’s shoulder with a final, victorious caw.

_Fucking familiars._

“I could report you,” Oikawa threatened.

“If you were going to, you would have already.”

He had a point. Oikawa’s teeth bared in a parody of a smile. “I’m trying to help you. You may not see it—”

The doors to the school opened and a loud group of students went past, chattering until they noticed the standoff going on before them.

“O-Oikawa?” one of the girls said, almost nervous. “Is something going on?”

He turned on a brighter smile as he faced her. “Just giving some advice! No need to worry yourself over  _me,_  though I am flattered.”

Akaashi edged away, clearly thinking he was forgotten.

Oikawa managed to ditch the girls after a few moments, assuring them that everything was fine and that he simply had something to discuss with Akaashi, “man to man, you understand,” he had said seriously.

When Oikawa’s hand clamped down on his arm, Akaashi sucked in a sharp breath. The crow pecked at his hand a few times but Oikawa refused to let go.

“You don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, Akaashi,” he said, speaking quickly. There was no telling when somebody else would show up. “You have no fucking idea.”

“And you do? Let go of me, Oikawa.”

Oikawa reluctantly let him go, recognizing there was nothing else he could do in that moment.

“You’ll come to me, one day. I just pray you don’t come too late.”

He spun on his heel and left him standing in the foyer, feeling his gaze follow him all the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I saw him,” Oikawa said in a rush, shutting the door quickly behind him. Iwaizumi looked over from where he was sitting at his desk, hand poised over a notebook. “I saw him with a demon.”

“What?”

“Akaashi, I saw him in the forest. With a demon.”

He sat down cross-legged on the bed, ignoring the ache in his knee from practically running the whole way here. His heart was still racing from being so close to a demon again. He had forgotten the feel of their power.

“Are you sure?”

“Iwa— _Hajime._  I know what I saw.”

That got his attention. They rarely called each other by their given names. He sat down across from Oikawa, their knees pressing together.

“All right,” he said simply. “I believe you. But what now?”

“I don’t know,” Oikawa admitted softly. “I—tried to talk to him.”

“And?”

“He wouldn’t listen. He doesn’t trust me.”

“You haven’t given him much reason to,” Iwaizumi pointed out. Oikawa winced at that hard truth, looking down at his hands. He wanted to help, so badly, but he didn’t know how. He didn’t know how to convince Akaashi to listen, he didn’t know how to convince him that demons were bad news. If he was foolish enough to ignore all the warnings that adults and the stories gave him, he was foolish enough to think he could control the situation, probably.

“You could always report him.”

“Iwa-chan, that’s not an option.”

“It  _is_ an option.”

“Should I report myself, too?”

“That’s different.”

“Excuse me if I fail to see the difference.” Oikawa took a deep breath, pushing aside his irritation. “I’ll find another way to talk to him. To convince him to give this up. I will.”

“Okay.”

“I  _will._ ”

“I believe you.” Iwaizumi rested his hands on Oikawa’s knees. “If anyone can do it, you can. If there’s anything I can do…”

Oikawa dropped his hands on top of his.

“Just…stay by my side. Like always.”

His smile was crooked and small, but genuine.

“You know I will.”

A soft mewing interrupted the soft moment between them. Oikawa blinked in surprise when Iwaizumi left the bed and returned with a small, black kitten in his hands.

“Where did you get a kitten?” Oikawa asked.

“Kuroo, you know, Nekoma’s captain, was handing them out. Guess one of the barn cats had a litter.”

“I didn’t realize you and Kuroo were close.”

“We’re not. Don’t have to be close to have a cat foisted on you.” Despite his gruff words, his hands were delicate, gentle where they touched the small creature. “Was thinking about making him my familiar.”

“I think he’s a little young yet for that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but eventually.”

Oikawa recognized excitement in the bend of his spine, the way he held his shoulders.

He couldn’t help but to feel a little jealous.

“It’s not like you to be a traditionalist. Especially since he’s a black cat.”

“What does that have to do with anything? Besides, with Akaashi having two familiars, the whole school is thinking it’s the new style. They’re making a big comeback.” He stroked the little thing behind the ears and he purred, disproportionately loud to his size. “Maybe if you ask Kuroo, he can find you a cat too.”

Oikawa sniffed. “I have no desire to be tricked into taking on a pet during my last year of school.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Does he have a name?” Oikawa asked reluctantly after some time passed and Iwaizumi continued to ignore him in favor of playing with the kitten.

“King.”

Oikawa laughed. “That’s a bit…”

“He’ll grow into it,” Iwaizumi said, defensive.

“Are you sure about that? He seems a bit runty.”

“I’ll show you who’s runty!”

Iwaizumi grabbed him, too fast to block, and roughed up his hair despite Oikawa’s protests and attempts at batting him away.

“Look what you’ve done.” Oikawa pouted, looking over at the mirror when he finally managed to shove him away.

“Looks about the same as usual.”

“Iwa-chan!”

He grinned, unrepentant.

Oikawa couldn’t help but to smile back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 “We’re going to confront Akaashi.”

Iwaizumi looked over, incredulous.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Now that I know for sure that he’s involved with demons, he and I need to talk. More than ever.”

“You’re not serious about this.”

Oikawa looked up at him, not surprised to see a scowl on his face.

“I am.”

Iwaizumi sighed, scrubbing a hand through his already mussed, spiky hair. “He’ll never tell you anything, let alone the two of us.”

“He probably trusts you more than me. You have to come along.”

“My point still stands.”

Oikawa hesitated, looking back down at his hands.

“I plan to swear a blood oath. For silence on the matter of the demons.”

Iwaizumi didn’t say anything for a while, the only sound between them the crackling of the fire.

“And how,” he asked bluntly, “do you plan on getting an ace student to commit one of the blackest sins a wizard can commit when he’s not even likely to let you in his room?”

“I’ll improvise.”

“Liar. Let me in on the plan or I’m out.”

“Brute force,” Oikawa admitted. “I’m forcing him to listen to what I have to say, whether he likes it or not. And I’m banking on him wanting to get some answers badly enough that he’ll agree to the oath.”

“Simple enough.”

“What, you’re not going to tell me I’m an idiot?”

“I assumed that went without saying.”

“ _Mean._ ”

Iwaizumi sat, finally, rubbing at his left palm.

There was only the faintest of scars left. Oikawa knew the exact shape and size and feel of it; there was a nearly identical one on his palm. Iwaizumi hadn’t been as good at healing spells back then.

“Having regrets, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked softly. He snorted and eyed him sideways with a faint smile.

“I don’t believe in keeping regrets.”

“And you call me the idiot? It’s natural to have them.”

“Well, I don’t. Not about you.”

Oikawa caught his breath at the sincerity of his words. “Oh,” was all he could manage.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, but Oikawa thought he saw a red flush high on his cheeks.

“Are you in?” Oikawa asked.

“Always was. But I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

_Me too, Iwa-chan. Me too._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oikawa managed to pounce on Akaashi as he was leaving the library. He was a surprisingly hard man to find—and find alone. His team surrounding Akaashi nearly as often as Oikawa’s fans were around him.

“You and me, we need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Akaashi said, tone flat.

“Are you always this disrespectful to your elders?”

Akaashi ignored his question. “What do you want?”

“I feel like we got off on the wrong foot,” Oikawa said lightly, putting on his most winning smile.

“I’m not sure what gave you that impression.”

“You know, you’re awfully snippy considering I’m the man who holds your life in his hands.”

Akaashi blanched before smoothing his expression.  _He’s scared._

Oikawa sighed. This wasn’t going well. “A joke. It was a joke. A poor one, I suppose, considering.”

Akaashi stared blankly at him.

“I just want to talk. If you have the time.”

“My social calendar is full.”

“Well then.” He clapped a hand to Akaashi’s shoulder, a little too tight. “I strongly suggest you clear up some space for me. Say, tonight, after lights-out? Don’t worry, I’ll come to you.”

With a jaunty wave over his shoulder, Oikawa left him in the hallway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The wait until lights-out was unbearable. Iwaizumi snapped at him—twice—to stop pacing, and Oikawa snapped at him to stop cracking his knuckles every goddamned minute.

_It’s going to be fine, everything will be fine,_  he repeated over and over in his head. He wasn’t sure he believed it, but he wanted it to be true. That was his mantra the whole way to Fukurodani Tower. _It’s going to be fine, fine, fine._

They exchanged a look when they finally reached Akaashi’s door. Iwaizumi shrugged, then knocked.

A few beats passed, then the door opened.

Akaashi made no move to let them inside.

“What do you want?”

“Trust me, little owl, this is not a conversation you want to be caught having in the hallway. Or caught at all.” Oikawa raised an eyebrow. “So?”

Akaashi sighed and stepped aside for them.

“These from your demon buddy?” Iwaizumi asked, staring at the feather charms decorating the canopy of his bed.

Akaashi shot a sharp look at Oikawa. It clearly said,  _you told him?_  Oikawa left his face blank because  _of course_  he had told him. Wasn’t that obvious?

“Yes,” he answered after a few beats. Iwaizumi grunted and left it at that, plunking himself down backwards in the desk chair, leaving Oikawa to seat himself at the edge of the bed. Akaashi remained standing, folding his arms tightly over his chest. 

“What do you want?” he repeated.

“To make amends, of sorts. We seem to always be on each other’s bad side and I’d like to make that up to you.”

“Why are you really here?”

Oikawa smiled.

“Clever boy,” he praised.

“I’m not a dog.”

Oikawa made a vague gesture. “Iwa-chan, if you don’t mind.”

The other man snapped out a warding spell, one that they had helped each other learn back in their first year. If anything, Akaashi seemed more uncomfortable with the ward in place.

“It seems you’re determined to stay involved with demons. I myself understand the temptation.” Oikawa paused there, tapping his fingers together. “I simply want to answer any questions you may have.”

“About?”

“Anything,” he said, still smiling.

“And you expect me to just trust you blindly?”

“I expect you to take this opportunity for what it is. Trusting me has little to do with it.” He tilted his head slightly. “You don’t think I trust you, do you?”

“There’s nothing in this for you. You gain nothing by answering my questions.”

Oikawa sighed, inspecting his nails. “How about we swear on it, then. I’ll promise to not spread around your dirty secret, and you agree to my protection.”

“Your—your protection? You honestly think that I need  _your_ —”

“From yourself, yes, I think you do. And your dangerous demon-fueled inclinations.”

Oikawa took his silence as agreement, shooting him a coy smile. The next moment, he was sliding a silver knife from his boot and bringing it down across his palm. The pain was familiar and sharp, a bright pain rather than the dull, consistent aches he was used to. Akaashi jumped away from him.

“What are you—”

“What, all you’ve done and you’re scared of a little blood magic?” Oikawa asked with a challenging lift of his brow.

“I’m not scared,” Akaashi said between his teeth, “just not suicidal.”

“There are some, dear little owl, who would disagree with you.” He held out his hand insistently, not caring that he was dripping blood all over the floor. He would either take it or he wouldn’t, but Oikawa was betting on him taking it. He recognized the hunger in his face.

The hunger for power. The hunger for knowledge.

Akaashi swallowed hard and held out his hand to Oikawa.

Before Akaashi could do more than hiss in pain, Oikawa was clasping hands with him, scrawling out the necessary runes over both their arms using the mixture of their blood. The words were cold on his lips, cold enough to make the both of them shiver as it sank in. Then the cold vanished, leaving only a faintly numb feeling behind and a faint scent of ozone and iron.

“Well, now that  _that’s_ out of the way,” Oikawa murmured, sliding the knife back into his boot. Iwaizumi stood and muttered out a healing spell over both their hands. Except for the blood, there wasn’t a trace of injury left. “We can get down to business. We’re both sworn to silence on what happens in this room tonight.”

“Thanks,” Akaashi said belatedly as Iwaizumi reclaimed his seat. Iwaizumi shrugged.

“Questions, questions! I don’t have all night.” Oikawa snapped his fingers at him.

“Quit being an ass, Shittykawa.”

 Oikawa just settled himself more comfortably on Akaashi’s bed, ignoring Iwaizumi’s comment. Akaashi took several moments to think.

“Why did you follow me into the forest?”

“Because you’re a suspicious man.”

“I think your stalking habit makes you the more suspicious of the two of you,” Iwaizumi drawled out. The small kitten poked its head out of his shirt pocket, blinking bright green eyes at the room. That dreadful bird of Akaashi’s squawked and he ducked back down again.

“Mean, Iwa-chan! I don’t stalk, I investigate!”

 “Why haven’t you reported me?”

“Because you’d likely be killed, and I’d be out a rival. It’d be a damn shame.”

“We’re not rivals.”

“No?” Oikawa was a little disappointed at hearing that. What was with young people, these days? Usually they’d spring at the chance to be rivals with somebody as strong as Oikawa.

“No,” Akaashi said firmly.

“How did you know about the seals causing damage?”

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa answered instantly.

“And…how did he know?”

“Because I’m not a dumbass,” he growled out.

Oikawa shot a fond smile in Iwaizumi’s direction. Iwaizumi glowered, which would have been menacing if he wasn’t still struggling to keep the kitten from scaling down his body like a climbing post.

 “How do you know about the demons?”

“Everyone knows a little about demons, come on, Akaashi.”

Akaashi waited. Oikawa sighed, running his hands through his hair in defeat. There was no getting around the truth, nto tonight.

“I made a contract, once upon a time. The biggest mistake of my life.”

Akaashi closed his eyes briefly. Oikawa watched him carefully, wondering what he would make of this news. It hurt, admitting it to someone he didn’t even consider a friend, but it needed to be done. “Why are you telling me all this?”

“So I can save you.”

“If you had a contract, you know there’s no way of escaping it once made. Besides, I’m not even from your tower, what do you care what I do with my life?”

“Akaashi, your loyalty is commendable, but not everything is about what tower you’re from. Most of us will graduate, which means at least some of us will be working together out in the big, bad world.” Oikawa sighed, resisting the urge to mess with his hair again. “To be fair, I don’t care what you end up doing with your life, aside from this whole demon thing.”

He clapped his hands together lightly. “So! Next question?”

“How are you still alive?” Akaashi blurted out.

 Oikawa didn’t answer at first. Iwaizumi shifted in his chair, scowl deepening.

“There are only two things a demon wants out of a contract. Your soul, or your life.” Oikawa looked away from him. “I managed to barter my way down to half my life.”

“In exchange for?”

“Half my life,” he said, lifting one hand, “in exchange for  _this.”_ He snapped his fingers and a flame sprang into life, hanging suspended above his hand. Akaashi remained quiet for a while.

“Why?” he asked finally. “Anyone who wants to go to this school has heard your name before. You already had power, so why?”

“That’s the thing about power, isn’t it? Once you get some, you always want more.” He leaned forward. Akaashi didn’t drop his gaze.  _Brave little owl._ “You’ve felt it. Or we wouldn’t be here.”

Akaashi nodded.

Satisfied, he leaned back. “So what did you give?”

“My soul,” he grated out.

Oikawa let out a low whistle.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not sure which of us got the more shit deal.”

“I’d say we’re even.”

“One thing’s for sure, little owl,” he said with a wry sort of grin. “We’re both fucking idiots.”

Akaashi smiled hesitantly back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“That went well,” Oikawa said brightly once they were back in the safety of his room. Iwaizumi grunted, still trying to wrangle his kitten.

“Think he’ll listen to what you said?” he asked.

“Maybe.” He had looked, beneath his air of calm and indifference, scared. Oikawa knew that feeling all too well. “Too soon to tell.”

“I hope he does. For his sake.”

“Well, it’s out of our hands now. Don’t tell me you’re actually worried about him?”

Iwaizumi’s glare said it clearly enough. Oikawa laughed softly.

“You have a better heart than I do, Iwa-chan.”

“You’re the one who’s worried over the kid. Not me.”

He wasn’t wrong. Oikawa was worried, like it or not. He had lost too much to let another person walk down the same path without at least warning them of the danger ahead.

“Hey.” Iwaizumi grabbed his hand, squeezing tight. “We did what we could. The rest is up to him.”

Oikawa licked his lips.

“What do you think,” he said slowly, “about killing…two demons?”

“That it’s not our business.”

“Right.”

He held on a little tighter. “One step at a time. Let’s get rid of yours, then we’ll take care of the kid.”

“Right.” Oikawa found himself blinking back tears. “You’re right.”

“Course I’m right.”

“Don’t get cocky.”

Iwaizumi grinned and moved to let go of his hand. Oikawa held on tighter.

“You’re going to cut off my circulation,” he groused, but let him hold on anyway.

For a short while, all was as it should be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I want to show you something.”

Iwaizumi made a gesture for him to show him. Oikawa shook his head.

“It can’t be here. Do you have time for a walk?”

Iwaizumi gave him a considering look, but shrugged and followed him out the door, down the stairs, and through the school doors. They only spoke once they reached the forest.

“How far are we going, exactly?”

“As far as we need to.”

Iwaizumi muttered something under his breath, but kept following him, deeper and deeper in. When Oikawa judged they were far enough, he stopped.

“Could you put up a ward?”

“Sure, but how big? How strong?”

“As strong as you can manage. Put yourself behind it too.”

“Oikawa, what’s going on?”

“I made a new spell.” He licked his lips. Originally it had been to kill time when he was feeling jealousy over that girl’s confession to Iwaizumi, but…it had seemed good enough to make some adjustments to. “A demon-killing spell.”

“I don’t see any demons.”

“Well, I need to practice it, obviously!” Oikawa said, irritable. Iwaizumi’s forehead was crinkled with concern. “Just put up the ward, okay?”

“How dangerous is this spell, exactly?”

Oikawa shot him a tight smile. “We’re about to find out.”

Iwaizumi sighed, looking like he might argue, but he put up with the ward without any more questions, with himself behind it like Oikawa had asked. He shot him a smile more courageous than he felt and pulled out the paper with the incantation written on it to review one last time.

“Be careful, Oikawa.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“If you were, I wouldn’t have to say it all the time.”

Oikawa shot him a dirty look that he ignored, folding his arms over his chest.

Having him at his back made him feel better about the possibility and probability of this spell blowing up in his face.

At least Iwaizumi would be safe, no matter what happened to him. That was what mattered most of all.

He dropped the shielding spell. It would only distract him. He folded the paper back up and he began.

The words tasted like the white blazing glory of the stars, like the deep stillness of the world before a great storm. He shivered as he spoke, the hair on the back of his neck rising as the space between his outstretched hands began glowing. Bright, brighter, brightest.

He could feel the spell overbalancing even as he went into the last bit of the incantation. It wasn’t going to work unless Oikawa did something, and fast.

Luckily, he was good at improvising.

He spat out an extra few lines, the words coming from deep within his chest. He could feel himself slipping, slipping, deep beneath the fiery waves of the incantation, watching them blaze overhead while he sank lower, lower into the darkness. He thought he heard Iwaizumi shout his name but he focused instead on the final syllables, the too-bright light that threatened to consume him.

He found himself thinking that it wouldn’t be such a bad way to go.

_I can’t leave Hajime._

The last word of the incantation was nearly a yell, Oikawa trying to speak over the glaring brightness. He thought all that light would turn on him, would find him unworthy of its power and burn him to less than ashes, but it launched from his hands like a wild thing.

It devoured all in its path, leaving a smoking crater in the earth where before it had been lush and green with life, sparking with lightning that crackled in his ears. It grew brighter still, swirling relentlessly around the edges of the ward—around Oikawa.

Looking for its next prey.

It seemed to take the form of a great bird in his eyes, every flap of its wings bringing a new wave of destruction.

It was waiting, he realized, for his next command.

Oikawa reached his hand out to his newly-born spell and said a single word.

In a flash of light, it was gone.

Oikawa crumpled to the ground, suddenly weak in the knees and gasping for breath. He was sweaty, shaken.  _Did I really create something so powerful? So vast?_  He felt Iwaizumi’s hands on him, heard his voice calling to him incessantly, begging him to speak.

“Iwa-chan,” he said hoarsely, grinning. “I did it.”

“You sure as hell did something,” he said with a relieved laugh, cradling his head between his shaking hands. “Damn it, warn me next time you decide to go supernova!”

“Sure thing, Iwa-chan.” He curled his fingers over Iwaizumi’s hands. “Sure thing.”

That was what he would call the spell, he decided. Supernova.

It seemed fitting.

“Well, if that won’t kill a demon, I don’t know what will. And here I was thinking I would have to protect you.” Iwaizumi smiled at him.

“I’ll always need you to be the knight in shining armor,” Oikawa protested with a smile of his own.

“What does that make you, exactly, the princess?”

“The king.”

Iwaizumi snorted.

“What are you laughing at, I’m being serious! A king and his knight. What else could be more fitting?”

“You made me think of my cat,” he said, choking back more laughter, “and I imagined you with ears.”

“Rude, Iwa-chan! Stop comparing me to your runty cat!”

“And a tail,” he said, breaking down and pulling his hands away. Oikawa sighed, laying back on scorched dirt. He was too tired to spend the energy telling him off.

And besides, the sound of his unrestrained laughter was soothing; a remedy to cure all ills.

“I think we’ll be ready. When the time comes,” Iwaizumi said when he finally calmed down enough to speak. “With this in our arsenal, there’s no one and nothing we can’t beat.”

“That’s a lot of confidence for the man not doing the spell.”

“We’re a team. Same difference.”

Oikawa smiled a tiny, fond smile at the sky.

“We still have no idea how to trap a demon.”

“We’ve got time.”

Time. Time was ticking, ticking, ticking away, leaving Oikawa a little bit closer to death with each second. A little bit more grey, like his contract was leeching away his color. That’s how it felt, anyway.

Time was the thing he had the least of.

“Hey.” Iwaizumi threaded their fingers together, propping himself up on his elbow so that he hovered above Oikawa. It was a familiar position but never got less thrilling. Less comforting. Less anything. “Still with me, star gazer?”

“Always,” he whispered back. “I’ll always be with you.”

And he intended to be.

No matter the cost.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


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